The Text
by boywonder23
Summary: Batman sends an emergency message to Robin seeking help, Robin and the rest of Young Justice immediately rush to Gotham City. Reviews and constructive criticism appreciated, enjoy!
1. The Message

**EDIT: I would just like to say to all that start this story that I wrote this chapter in like 30 minutes and that my writing in the later chapters is much better, in my opinion anyway XD**

**DISCLAIMER: All characters are owned by DC Comics.**

Robin was finally getting some much needed rest when his communicator started beeping.

It had been Three o'clock at night when Robin and his teammates had returned to mount justice, after a long and exhausting mission and all Robin wanted to do was sleep ,he knew he had school the next day and that Batman was not going to be happy that he had stayed at Mount Justice instead of returning to the manor, but Robin didn't care because at that moment all he wanted to do was drift off to dreamland, where there were no worries, no school,no villains,no planetary crisis's just blissful peace, in less of course its a nightmare in which case its a bloodbath.  
>Which is why when Robin's communicator started beeping irritatingly he felt like grabbing the nearest object and smashing it silencing the repetitive beeping.<p>

Groaning Robin sat up and looked at the clock ,three fifteen he had been asleep fifteen lousy minutes, he pushed off his covers still fully clothed in his Robin uniform minus his boots, cape, and mask.

Walking over to the desk where the communicator lay, he picked it up and pressed the touch screen where the Batman insignia was blinking rapidly.

The Batman insignia disappeared and in its place was a fractured text message DCK FSH WREHOSE2 2F HELP DK.

Kid Flash bolted upright in his bed as he heard loud thumps coming from the hallway, he got up and peeked his head around the door "wha's going on." he mumbled at Aqualad and Superboy who had apparently also been woken up by the racket making its way down the boys' sleeping corridor.

"I assumed it was you" Aqualad responded

Superboy rubbing his eyes sleepily before grumbling "Where's Robin."

Kid Flash and Aqualad looked at each other frantically before rushing down the corridor.

Kid Flash running ahead of the other two arrived first.

Only to find Robin's door open and his normally clean room a mess.

"Rob!" Kid Flash called ,tentatively walking into the room.

"Behind you,Wally"

"Dude!" Kid Flash yelled clutching his chest and looking behind him at the Boy Wonder, who was attempting to put on his left boot while typing rapidly on the keypad attached to his glove.

"What's wrong?" Aqualad asked walking over to Robin, and steadying him as Robin continued to tug on his boot.

Robin grunted and put his foot down finally succeeding in pulling on the irritating footwear. "Batman's in trouble"

"What? how do you know?" Kid Flash asked, rushing to his friends side.

"I got this." he answered pulling up the text as Superboy,Aqualad,and Kid Flash leaned over to look at the screen.

"DCK FSH WREHOSE2 2F HELP DK, what the hell does that mean?" Superman growled still grumpy about being woken up.

"Batman is clearly calling for help" Robin snapped at the clone.

"Not to us" Aqualad said placing a hand on Robin's shoulder trying to defuse the situation before it got violent.

"I don't have time to explain." he said slipping out of Aqualad's hold and running down the hall.

Wally was the first to react, he ran in front of Robin, as Aqualad and Superboy flanked him ,caging Robin in.

"Get out of my way, Wally" Robin growled, glaring at the speedster.

"You're not going anywhere till you explain" Wally stated, matching Robin's glare.

"Guys, what's going on?" a voice asked making all four boys jump and look for the source, Miss Martian and Artemis were standing behind Wally.

"M'gann here" Artemis said coming out from behind Miss Martian and pointing at her "sensed great turmoil coming from one of you" she told them putting her hands on her hips "so who here has great turmoil?" she snapped looking one by one at the boys.

"Robin got a text, and he thinks Batman's in trouble."Aquaman stepped forward answering the angry archer.

"I don't think, I know "he retorted, once again bringing up the text on his computer, " It clearly says HELP here" he remarked pointing at the word on the screen "and this" he said moving his finger over to the right now hovering over the DK "This is Batman's secret code name it stands for The Dark Knight, I haven't figured out the rest, but I have to go, I could already be too late" he said quietly looking down at his boots.

"You have to let me go" he pleaded looking up his teammates "Kaldur, please" he said turning towards their leader.

"Move out of his way guys" Aquaman instructed Superboy and Kid Flash, giving Kid Flash a stern look before he could open his mouth to protest, finally turning towards Robin "But there is no way you're going without us."

"No it's too dangerous" Robin protested "and I don't even know where I'm going yet."

"We can help you figure it out on the way there." Miss Martian countered, stepping towards the boy "come on we can get to Gotham a lot faster in my ship then on your motorcycle."

"Fine."Robin grumbled, defeated "but.. if it gets to dangerous you guys are leaving, you don't know what it's like in Gotham, _and_no talking while I riddle out the message," he finished glaring at Wally.

"Okay." He relinquished raising his hands above his head "I surrender,just put away the Bat glare."

"Let's go" Robin ordered , punching Kid Flash as he passed him.

"ow" Kid Flash groaned rubbing his arm "Got it too soon for Daddybats jokes"

"Idiot." Artemis mocked, as she and the rest followed Robin to the hanger.

_To be continued_


	2. The Journey

They had arrived in Gotham and were now hovering above the city.

Robin stared down at the busy streets and tall buildings, wracking his brain for clues of where his lost mentor could be, he had been staring at the text the entire ride to Gotham attempting to decipher the message, he could guess what some of the words meant but in short he had made no real progress and the frustration was beginning to show through his normally calm façade.

"Have you got anything" Aqualad asked, breaking the silence.

"No…..maybe." Robin responded, tearing his eyes from the busy streets below before turning toward Miss Martian, and asking "Megan, could you?….." giving a slight tilt of the head towards the front of the ship.

"Wha?" she asked bewildered, giving the boy wonder a confused look "Oh! Hello Megan! " she scolded , pointing her hand towards the front of the bio-ship and converting the windshield into a giant computer screen.

"Whoa! Now that's cool!" Kid Flash blurted out loudly, releasing all of the pent up energy after two hours of complete silence.

"Thanks Ms. M" Robin muttered, matching up the giant screen with the computer on his glove, bringing up the text so everyone could see.

"DCK FSH WREHOSE2 2F HELP DK, I've run this text through every code me and Batman have written and have come up with nothing, so they must just be fractured words." Robin briefed before zooming up on the word WREHOSE2 "Now, I think this means warehouse , I can't figure out what the point of the two is though, ideas?" he asked looking up at his teammates.

Superboy furrowed his brow in concentration. Miss Martian looked anxiously around at the others. Artemis crossed her arms across her chest staring intently at the screen. Kid Flash began to bite nervously at his finger nails and tap his foot rhythmically on the floor of the bio-ship. Aqualad as usual was the first one to speak "Maybe its number two in a line of warehouses."

"That was my theory," Robin replied," But where do we start looking I mean there're hundreds of warehouse in Gotham, the rest of words must be clues to the exact location"

"FISH!" Kid Flash cried out suddenly causing the others jump and stare at him.

"Kid, now is not the time to be thinking with your stomach." Artemis scolded, scowling at the speedster.

"I wasn't." Kid Flash retorted scowling back at the blonde before turning towards Robin "Fish, that's what FSH means, it must be a fish warehouse."

"Of course!" Robin cheered, finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together in his head, typing rapidly on his keypad, zeroing in on a location.

"ahem."Superboy cleared his throat loudly, raising his eyebrows at Robin.

Robin looked up to see all five of his teammates staring expectedly at him.

Oh, sorry guys," Robin apologized, his fingers never leaving the keypad," I think I know where Batman is," he stated excitedly, smiling at the teenagers," When Kid deducted brilliantly, that FSH was fish it all came together in my brain DCK means docks, Batman's in a warehouse that processes fish by the docks, probably at Gotham Bay." He concluded bringing a map of Gotham on the giant screen, zooming up on a long line of warehouses.

"How will we know which one he's in?" Superboy questioned.

"And we still don't know what 2F means." Agualad added.

"We can figure that out when we get there!" Robin snapped, pounding his arms down on the chair, "Batman sent that that text hours ago he could be dying or sinking to bottom of Gotham bay for all we know, we don't have time to debate everything." tears forming behind his mask at the thought of Bruce's lifeless body slowly sinking, down, down, falling , ropes snapping, screams, a cold thud, NO! it won't happen again. He won't let it, he's not losing another father, with a new found sense of determination Robin looked at Aqualad, and then at the others"I'm going NOW, so either get on board or get out"

"I'm in Rob" Kid Flash zoomed up to Robin, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Count me in." Superboy said, cracking his knuckles, always ready for a fight.

Artemis nodded at Robin, tightening her grip on her bow.

"Anything for you Robin." Miss Martian said smiling sweetly at Robin.

"I'm in to."Aqualad walked up to Robin and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, " we will get him back."

"I know Kal." Robin said, faking confidence, trying to convince himself that it was true that everything was fine, that he wasn't terrified, he would but on a brave face, pretend everything would work out, because if he let that scared boy who just wanted to scream and cry out for his father, who just wanted to feel his strong arms around him, hugging him close. FOCUS! Robin focus, he scolded himself, shaking away the thoughts, and returning to the problem at hand, "Miss M, do you have the coordinates?"

"Got them."she confirmed, turning the engine on, "everyone strapped in?" she asked looking over her shoulder, "good, lets go save us a bat"

To Be Continued


	3. The Trap

**THANKS TO ALL THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT HAVE REVEWED! Nura.0 ,MaraBella, I a me I don't care about you, and AmaraRae :D Thanx so much! you're all awesome! **

** DISCLAIMER: all characters are owned by DC Comics :D **

The Bio-Ship landed silently on the dock, the salty sea air instantly hitting Robin, as the boarding ramp lowered.

Robin glanced back at the others, he couldn't risk them getting hurt, or getting him caught , after all this mission called for stealth, and lets face it Superboy usually goes for the 'punch in the wall, deal with the consequences later' tactic, and with Batman's life on the line he can't take any risks, he's not losing anyone today.

Coming to a decision Robin ran than jumped off the not completely lowered ramp, landing softly on the ground, before sprinting towards the warehouses at the end of the dock and disappearing into the night.

Robin knew his teammates would be mad at him for pulling one of his classic disappearing acts, and he did feel guilty for deserting them but he had to do this alone, this was his father, he couldn't depend on Superman or even The Justice League the only person he could trust with the task to save Batman was himself.

After what felt like hours of running Robin finally found himself in front of a line of warehouses with numbers spray painted above the doors, creeping up to the one with the large two, making sure to keep to the shadows.

Robin lowered himself on the cold concrete floor of the warehouse, after slipping threw a broken window located on the back of the building, searching frantically around the warehouse for any traces of his lost mentor Robin finally heard voices coming from the front of the building duckiing behind a large crate filled with what smelled like fish, he listened intently to what the two men were saying.

" Have you gottin a shot at him yet?" one of the men asked, looking over at the other man, revealing a large scar on his left cheek.

"No, the Boss has had me on watch duty _all_ night" the other man whined, "that pointy eared freak is the reason I missed out on my little girls childhood, I'm just itching to knock that damn snarl off his f****** face." cracking his knuckles to emphasize his point.

Suddenly a ringing noise filled the warehouse, the two thugs started looking around, confused "what the hell?" Robin looked around just as bewildered, before realizing that the incessant ringing was coming from him, "Shit! "he swore, this never happened to him! hastily grabbing his communicator from his belt, he silenced the ringing, Superman's shield blinking rapidly on the screen.

"What the f*** was that?"

"That my friend was an intruder," he said cocking his gun "Lets go warn the boss, looks like you might get your shot at the bat after all."

The other man grinned and handled his gun.

The two men walked across the warehouse to the far wall, tapped two times on the wall, and tapped two more times on the wooden knot below, Robin watched intently as an elevator appeared, in what previously had looked like a normal wooden wall, the two thugs stepped in and the doors closed leaving behind the once again perfectly camouflaged elevator.

Robin waited a minute before stepping out of his hiding place, walking over to the wall, he lightly touched the place where the thugs had tapped, confirming his suspicions, pressure sensors, he than commenced to scale the wall in an attempt to find some sort of keypad, jackpot! He celebrated to himself finding a small keypad located at the bottom right corner of the camouflaged elevator, plugging his wrist computer into the keypad he hacked into the elevator, the doors opened in response, making sure his ride up would be invisible to others before he crept into the elevator and went up.

Arriving on the hidden floor of the warehouse, Robin stepped out and instantly gauged his surroundings, on first glance the top floor looked a lot like the first floor only smaller, but on second glance you can see that the crates were filled with guns and what looked like enough bombs to level all of downtown Gotham, But what really peaked Robins interest was the loud grunts and groans coming from behind a large wall of crates.

As Robin neared the barricade he nervously looked around the boxes, fearing what he'd see.

The fear for his mentor quickly replaced with a burning rage, as he witnessed the brutal beating, Batman's hands were shackled above his head, hanging from the ceiling, as at least ten thugs went at him with wooden bats, two of which Robin recognized as the men from downstairs.

"Enough!" a voice rang,ou causing all the men to lower their weapons and back way, "it looks like are second guest, has finally arrived!" a mysterious figure stepped out from the shadows and looked directly at Robin.

Robin's blood instantly ran cold, Two Face, TF meant Two Face.

Robin cursed himself as the realization of what Batman's message truly meant, it wasn't a cry for help, but a warning, Batman knew the minute Robin discovered he was in danger, he would jump in with two feet, try to handle it alone, HELP wasn't a cry for help but instructions to bring back-up.

The fear of losing his father consumed Robin resulting in his actions to become reckless and arrogant , he did exactly what Batman warned him against, leaving his friends in the dust, and playing right into Two Face's hands.

"Lets not neglect our guest boys" Two Face said sinisterly, and before Robin had time to react he found himself completely surrounded , the cold hard thud of a bat making contact with the back of his head, and the world suddenly going black.

_To Be Continued…_


	4. The Gunshot

**THANKS TO ALL THE INCREDIBLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE REVIEWED! YOU'RE ALL AWESOME!**

****DISCLAIMER: all characters are owned by DC Comics :D****

**EDIT: Fixed the problem with the italics. :) for some reason they appeared in the middle of the story instead of the flashback in the starting...oops. :D**

_BOOM!_

_At the sound the young boy huddled farther under his covers, clutching them tightly in his little fists, he had only been at the manor for a month now, and had never experienced a thunder storm this violent, the house seemed to shake as lightning struck ,thunder following close behind._

_Creak!_

_Dick's head came out from under his covers and cautiously looked around his room, what was that? wiping the tears from his cheeks, Dick climbed out of bed and crept towards the door._

"_Bruce?" he called softly, cautiously making his way into the hallway and towards the balcony overlooking the main entrance._

"_Bruce!" he called again, voice quivering as fear began to envelope him._

_BOOM!_

_Thunder vibrated the balcony, frightened Dick whimpered and withdrew into a ball, hugging his legs tightly to his chest, frightened and alone, hot tears began to spill down his cheeks, suddenly a familiar darkness engulfed him, looking up through tear filled eyes, he saw Bruce crouched in front him, still donned in his Batman uniform minus cape and cowl, which were now draped around Dick shoulders, relief overwhelming Dick, he leapt into Bruce's arms, craving the comfort and safety that awaited him, Dick's small arms wrapped tightly around his neck, as one of Bruce's large hands stroked his hair._

"_What's wrong?" Bruce asked the sobbing boy in his arms._

"_I -I - tho- thought - y- you - were- out- th- there." Dick managed to say in-between heaving sobs, pointing to one of the large windows, the violent storm visible through the velvet curtains._

_Tightening his grip around Dick's slim waist, Bruce attempted to console the distraught boy "shhhhh, it's okay I'm fine." rubbing small comforting circles on Dick s back, guilt tugged at Bruce's heart, for scaring the boy, however, at the same time a strange warmth slowly began to fill his being, as he held the now sniffling child, his small arms still wrapped tightly his neck, clearly more terrified for Bruce's safety over his own._

_Slowly relinquishing his death grip, Dick sat back in Bruce's arms, still sniffling, with the occasional hiccup._

"_Bruce*hic* can I sleep with you, tonight?" his large blue eyes looked sadly up at Bruce, silently pleading._

_Bruce smiled warmly down at the small boy, bringing up a hand to wipe the tear stained face clean, picking up the abandoned cape, wrapping it around Dick's small frame and gathering the exhausted boy in his arms, before carrying him to his vacant bedroom. _

_Gently placing Dick on his large bed, before entering the walk-in closet to change out of his bat-suit and into a loose shirt and sweats, returning to find Dick still sitting in the exact place where he had set him down, staring anxiously at the closet door._

_Dick gaze followed Bruce as he pulled the covers down, settling in, Bruce patted the empty space next to him, gesturing at Dick towards him, Dick crawled up to the head of the bed, his body relaxing as he settled into his guardians side, one of Dick's small arms flung across his broad chest, a handful of Bruce's shirt clutched tightly in his tiny hand._

"_Good night Dick" Bruce said softly to the already sleeping figure, pressing a gentle kiss to Dick's forehead._

"Robin!"

Batman? Robin tried to move his head towards the voice, causing searing pain to course through his skull.

"You got to wake up, chum."

"Batman?" he finally managed, ignoring the protests from his throbbing head.

"Yeah, it's me chum, you got to open your eyes." His gentle voice reassuring Robin, cautiously he slowly opened his eyes, his head screaming in pain when the single light bulb hanging between him and what he guessed was Batman, shone in his eyes.

"Are you okay" Batman asked worriedly.

Things finally coming into view, Robin looked past the evil light bulb and at the once blurry blob, now clearly a bloody, battered Batman, "Me? Look at yourself, you look as if you've been hit by a semi-trailer truck, multiple times!"

I'll be fine." he grunted through clenched teeth,," Who needs ribs anyway?" he joked, wincing with every breath.

"_your_ making jokes? _now_ I really am worried" Robin grinned, looking across at his bound mentor.

"Enough chit-chat". Batman ordered " We need to escape, before Two Face returns." grunting as a large leather strap fastened across his chest, pressed painfully on his broken ribs

A sudden burst of fear, coursing through Robin's body at the thought of the crazed lunatic returning, Robin began to frantically struggle against the bonds strapping his wrists and ankles to the irritating chair, Robin remembered all to well the first time, he faced off with Two Face, Batman bound, watching, unable to help, Two Face's crazed expression as he hit the small child, again and again the wooden bat cracking down on his skull, whack, whack ,whack, then nothing, darkness, waking up days later broken and battered,, anger quickly replacing fear as Robin remembered his past humiliation, with new determination, Robin's struggles against his bonds intensified, finally managing to slip one gloveless hand out of the heavy duty leather straps, but before he could get to work on the second, a scared hand gripped Robin's newly released one, fastening it back down, tightly.

"Tsk, tsk." Two Face shamed, his disfigured face only inches from Robin's "you've been a very bad boy Robin, hasn't he men?" Two Face looked to his lackeys, the men grunting unenthusiastically, in agreement, "I'll just have to punish him won't I?" the jeers getting louder, excitement rising "teach him a lesson?" cheers filled the room, the surrounding men eager for the impending beating.

Two Face grabbed a metal baton from one of the nearby men, and brought it down hard on one of Robin's exposed fingers, a resounding crack! filled the room, Robin bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming, determined not to give them the satisfaction, centering all his will on not screaming, Robin drowned everything out, Two Face's taunts, the thugs encouraging jeers, Batman's angry yells of protest, but as the baton slammed down on his already broken wrist, Robin's will shattered, his cry of pain reverberating on the walls.

Two Face looked down at the broken boy" Finally! that's all I wanted," he said patting the panting boy on the head, "It was sooo much easier last time, has my favorite punching bag grown up? He taunted whacking him once more on the knee cap, causing Robin to cry out, the villain snickered at the broken boy "All in a days works, folks." Two Face boasted, bowing to his rambunctious crowd.

"Just wait till my friends get here." Robin sneered, spitting blood out of his mouth onto one of Two Face's pristine shoes.

Two Face leapt forward, and angrily grabbed Robin's jaw," You mean these friends?" sending a signal towards the thugs, they parted to reveal the crumpled body's of Robin teammates. "I hope you have a plan B." he mocked, grabbing a gun and firing it at one of the unsuspecting victims.

BLAM!

BLAM!

BLAM!

_To Be Continued…._


	5. The Ultimatum

**Thanx to all the awesome people who have reviewed! (you know who you are) you really made my day :) I love you all! Good job to TheVampire'sGirl who came very close to cracking the code after just reading chapter one , but I tricked you DCK is DOCK not DICK :D**

**DISCLAIMER: All characters are owned by DC Comics.**

"NOOO, KF!" Robin cried, struggling furiously against his restraints, forced to watch helplessly as Two Face fired at his best friend.

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

Shooting directly three times at Wally's legs, a cry of intense pain emitting from the speedster as one of the bullets connected with his kneecap, blood pouring freely onto the concrete floor.

"We wouldn't want you running away now, would we?" Two Face taunted, kneeling down to where Kid Flash lay. Wally's whole body vibrating as his hyper-accelerated metabolism attempted to heal his mangled legs.

"We can't have you healing yourself, now can we?" Two Face sneered, placing the muzzle of his gun up against his injured knee and firing.

"Ahhhhhh! Kid Flash's anguished cry filled the room, awaking his fallen teammates.

Two Face turning to look at the furious faces of Kid Flash's friends and colleagues "Oh! Look at that! you woke the brats." Grabbing Wally by the hair, he brought him roughly to his feet, his damaged legs crumbling beneath him.

"Kid Flash!" Miss Martian screamed, horrified.

"Stay back." Two Face ordered, pointing the gun to the side of Wally's head, "Move and I blast his brains out!" Giving Superboy a warning glance Two Face gestured at his men to grab the unrestrained teens.

"Put him down." Artemis growled, struggling against the thug holding her back.

"Stand down, Artemis." Agualad ordered, before turning towards Two Face still holding a gun against Wally's temple. "All we ask is that you put our friend down, I offer myself in exchange."

Looking down at Kid Flash's pale tear stained face, Two Face snickered menacingly," But me and Flash Boy weren't done playing." Gripping Wally's hair, Two Face hefted him back to his feet.

"Leave them alone, Harvey." Batman commanded, staring down the demented sociopath.

Matching Batman's glare, Two Face griped the gun harder, "Harvey Dent is dead."

"Harvey I know you're still in there, you're not a murderer, put the boy down."

"Shut up." Two Face snarled through clenched teeth.

"Don't let him win. Fight it Harvey!" Batman yelled, struggling to reach the man, buried deep inside the psychopath.

"SHUT UP!" Two Face roared, dropping Wally like a sack of potatoes, turning his gun towards Robin, still struggling against his binds, "One more word, I dare you."

"Don't you dare point that gun at my son." Batman threatened his voice low and dangerous.

Menacingly Two-Face knelt down to Robin's level and pressed the gun up against his cheek, instantly freezing the once struggling boy," So he is your brat? I mean I've always suspected but, I guess I never took you as the fatherly type, Bats." Standing up, Two Face stood between father and son, a cruel smile crossing his face.

"You know this gives me the perfect opportunity to answer a question that _I_ personally have always wondered…, which _is_ more emotionally scarring?" Striding towards Robin, Two Face pressed his gun against the defenseless boy's forehead." watching your child die?" His violent gaze never leaving Robin's, Two Face whipped his arm around and pointed the gun directly at Batman "or your father?"

"He's just a boy Harvey, leave him out of this, it's me you've got a problem with." Batman interjected, in attempt to gain the villain's full attention.

"That may be true Bats, but watching your little bird die, seems like fitting punishment before I blow _your_ brains out." Two Face retorted, a devilish grin plastered on his damaged face.

"I know you're still in there Harvey, somewhere buried behind this insane façade is a good man, a man who used to help and defend this city from those who preyed on it, a man who would never _ever _kill a child."

"That may have been true once, but as I've stated before, Harvey Dent is dead!" Two Face roared, pulling the trigger.

BANG.

Robin watched in horror as the bullet sliced through Batman's abdomen, blood pouring freely out of the gaping hole, soaking his pants and creating a puddle beneath his feet.

"Batman!" Robin yelled, voice cracking, tears streaming down his face, mustering every last ounce of his strength in getting out of the hated restraints, getting to Bruce. Crying out in agony as his broken arms screamed in protest.

Looking up and meeting eyes with his frightened ward Batman managed to mouth 'Look up' before his head fell onto his chest as he quickly lost consciousness.

Robin stilled his frantic action and looked towards the small skylight located above his head, nothing, wait! Was that? It is! Robin watched excitedly as a red and blue blur rapidly approached the building.

'What are you smiling about?" Two Face questioned, grabbing Robin by the hair and pulling his face close to his, " WHY ARE YOU SMILING?"

CRASH!

"What the hell!" Two Face bellowed, rubble from the ceiling falling down on his head.

"Let him go, Two Face." The red and blue intruder said sternly, arms folded, no smile on his normally kind face.

Still griping Robin's hair, Two Face turned around to face the flying hero.

"Superman? Well this sure is a plot twist." Two Face said, smiling devilishly up at the man of steel,

"Who will you save? your comrade and fellow leaguer Batman who is currently bleeding out ,the annoying red headed speedster who is also sporting quite a few bullet holes or poor little boy blunder who is about to have his brains blown out." Smirking, Two Face cocked his gun and pressed it to Robin's temple "I really do enjoy a good ultimatum."

_To Be Continued…_


	6. The Explosion

**A special thanks to all of the wonderful people who have reviewed and are still reading my story even though I take FOREVER to update :D Thanx! *hugs***

**DISCLAIMER: All character are owned by DC Comics.**

Superman eyes quickly scanned his surroundings, gauging all of his options, he may be fast but there was _no_ way he could save both Wally and Bruce before Two Face pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight into Dick's head, he knew what Bruce would _want_ him to do, he would want him to save Dick first, get him out of harm's way, Bruce would kill him if he even knew that the thought of saving his life over Robins had even crossed Superman's mind; but then there's Wally, a pool of blood rapidly growing beneath him, his normally vibrant face now deathly pale, his glazed over green eyes blinking tiredly up at Superman, and judging by the pool of blood, he had minutes before the blood loss became fatal.

"Well? What'll it be Supey? I won't wait all day you know? If you don't make a decision soon I'll just cap all three of them, problem solved."

Superman directed his gaze towards Two Face, wanting nothing more than to burn a hole through his sick twisted face, but instead looked past the psycho's shoulder and at the teen slowly creeping up on the oblivious villain, Superman briefly locked eyes with Superboy in hopes of sending him an non verbal message, Superboy gave an knowing nod in response, sending a signal towards his teammates before tackling and disarming the unsuspecting villain.

"Did you forget about us?" Connor sneered, brutally punching the man underneath him again and again and _again, _no_ one _hurt _his_ friends.

"That's enough." A stern voice said above him, reaching down to grab Superboy's fist before it could once again collide with Two Face's broken face.

Superboy angrily looked up to see Superman standing over him, Kid Flash cradled in his arms, The bodies of Two face's army of thugs strewn all over the floor, "That's enough." He repeated his tone now calm and understanding.

Superboy wrenched his fist from Superman's grip " whatever." he growled, scowling at the red and blue clad hero before stalking over to his friends, joining them in their attempts to remove the bonds securing both Batman and Robin to the chairs.

Robin stared across at Batman, the voices of his teammates a distant chatter as he watched his unconscious mentors face, checking frantically for signs of life, chest movement, a twitch, hell he would take a glare at this point, but despite his pleas he saw nothing, nothing but the cold stillness of death.

"Is he alive?" Robin finally managed, chocking on the words, his voice barely audible over the frantic chatter of the young heroes.

All voices instantly silenced, all hands tugging at the binds stilling.

Aqualad who had been working on removing the large leather strap from Batman's chest reached up to check his pulse, faint but still there, then reaching his hand up to where Bruce's head was slumped forward, feeling the occasional burst of air release from his nose, he looked to the frightened boy desperately trying to hold back tears, "He's alive." he confirmed, "but-"

"We need to get him help, _fast."_ Superman interrupted, joining the crowd of teens, transferring the wounded Kid Flash over to Superboy, before bending down to easily snap the straps binding Robin to the chair, letting the boy slump tiredly against his chest before cautiously lifting him from the chair, careful not to irritate his injuries, fully prepared to hand him over to Aqualad and begin work on Batman when a dark chuckle across the room interrupted him.

"Ha ha! You didnt't think I'd have a plan B?" Two Face asked, picking himself off the floor and reaching inside his jacket to grab a small device, "see I wanted an escape route, you know just in case any of you morons decided to come in and crash the party." He took two staggering footsteps towards the exit, his left leg causing him to limp where Superboy had apparently injured him when he had tackled him to the ground.

Reacting first to the escaping criminal, Aqualad made a move to intercept him; Two Face just grinned and shook the small device over his head, his finger pressing down on a small red button, stilling the young atlantians movements. "Take one more step towards me and this whole place goes kablooey! I lined this whole building with explosives if you so much as move and I release this button its 'goodbye world, hello hell ' time." Two Face began to once again walk towards the exit, hand raised in the air, thumb pressing down on the trigger, keeping the bombs at bay. "And before you think you can whiz around and disable them all, think again, there is _no_ way you'll get them all in time."

Two Face sent one last warning glare before boarding the elevator and making his way of the building, followed closely by a crowd of henchmen, anxious to get out of the building.

"Get everyone out of the building _fast_; he'll release the button as soon as _he_'s out of harm's way." Superman ordered, bending down to release Batman with one hand still holding Robin with the other, but was once again interrupted as he felt the building shake, bombs going off on the lower level.

"Go! I'll take care of these two." Superman shouted, straining to be heard over the explosions rocking the building.

"Are you sure?" Aqualad asked.

"Go!" Superman repeated turning back towards his bound friend.

Connor glanced down at the rumbling floor beneath his feat then back to the roof, planting his feat as he prepared to jump "Guess we have to make our own exit." Superboy stated, shifting the wounded speedster in his arms to better protect him as he broke through the roof.

Following Connor's lead, Miss Martian grabbed both Artemis and Aqualad, flying through the hole Superboy just created.

Knowing that the kids had safely exited the warehouse Superman could now solely concentrate on getting both Batman and Robin out of the exploding building, with only seconds to spare, Superman could hear the ticking of the bombs as they prepared to go off, panic starting to rise in his chest.

"Clark."

Hearing his name he looked from his task of breaking the numerous straps littering Batman's body.

Bruce was now awake and staring straight at him," There's no time, take Dick and go."

Hearing Bruce's word Dick instantly started to struggle in Superman's arm. "No! Don't you _dare_ listen to him!" Robin warned, looking up at Superman realizing his struggles to fight against the much stronger hero with only one good arm was useless, tears of frustration pooling in his eyes.

"Now! Clark go!" Batman ordered.

Superman looked back at Bruce who was now silently pleading with his best friend to save his son "Please."

Making his decision Superman stood up and gripped Dick tighter who was now fighting tooth and nail to get away from the hero. "I'm sorry, Dick." he apologized, before taking off and flying through the hole in the ceiling feeling the heat of the bombs going off right behind him, leaving Batman to his impending death.

"NOOOO!" Robin cried, clawing frantically at Superman's arms, ears ringing at the sound of bombs going off beneath him, one after the other, with new determination the teen practically leapt from the arms still holding him firmly in place.

Not letting Robin's struggles sway him Superman clutched Dick to his chest, protecting him from the onslaught of fire, wood and lethal shards of glass causing it to it hit his back and scorch his cape.

After what felt like hour but was in fact minutes, the sound of bombs going off stopped leaving only the sound of Robin's hourse cries of despair, his one good fist still punching Superman weakly, tears falling unchecked down his face.

Superman landed gently beside the other teens a look of shock on all their faces as they witnessed the always 'calm and collected' Robin fall apart, angrily leaping from Superman arms and limping towards the large pile of rubble where the warehouse once stood, Robin began calling out for his father, his voice rough and hoarse, while he sifted through the rubble falling to his knees emotion and exhaustion taking over.

"Bruce." His voice breaking, throat sore and overused "Please don't leave me here alone."

In the back of his mind he could hear his friends and colleagues calling alongside him, but it didn't matter, it was over, Batman or not there's no way _anyone_ could survive that.

The wood and metal beneath him hot, scorching his knees, looking up through tear filled eyes he caught sight of blood seeping out from beneath several large pieces of wood, hope rising in his chest as he spotted a bloody hand peaking out from beneath the large pile of ply wood.

"Bruce." He murmured, dragging himself to where the hand was peeking out, the wood to heavy to remove by himself he cried out for help, Superman immediately responded, grabbing the rubble and throwing it across the dock, revealing the bloody and battered Batman, still attached to the chair, Superman snapped the remaining binds and gently lay the hero down on the ground.

Robin reached out to grab his father hand, holding it his chest, "Bruce?" he asked tentatively, tears falling silently, fear clutching his heart.

Aqualad ran over, joining the three heroes, standing behind Superman who looked up at him and gave a small shake of his head, tears gleaming in his eyes.

Seeing the exchange Robin instantly protested tightening his hold on Bruce's hand "No he's not dead! Do something, save him." He pleaded, looking at Superman expectantly, turning to the distraught teen Superman put his hand gingerly on his shoulder "I'm sorry, but it's too late."

"No." Robin snapped stubbornly, pushing Superman's hand off and looking to Aqualad instead "Kaldur please." He begged, eyes wide and pleading.

Aqualad was who giving chest compressions, looked to his friend normally so strong now broken and pleading, then back to the unconscious man.

With a new sense of purpose Aqualad doubled his efforts praying that they would pay off, praying for the man to breath.

Superboy now joining the scene grabbed Robin from behind getting him out of the way as both Aqualad and Superman attempted to save Batman, Robin fought against Superboy, anxious to stand by his father's side, losing the battle with the much stronger teen he finally gave in, going slack in Connor's arms as the exhaustion of the past few hours took hold and he lost consciousness.

_To be continued….. _


	7. The Surgery

**I know it's been a LONG time since I last updated and I'm sorry for that but in my defense I had the absolute worst case of writers block EVER but any way here it is now so..YAY! Thanx SO much to ALL who have revewed or favorited my story or for that matter all who is still reading even with my terrible updating habits. XD luv u!**

**DISCLAIMER: All characters are owned by DC Comics.**

**WARNING: The F-Bomb is dropped a few times... if you care XD**

It didn't feel real. everything from waking up in Connors arms to getting his arm reset and casted as he fought against the nurses and doctors desperate to get to Bruce's side in the other room, to watching as they wheeled Bruce on a gurney to surgery, to getting briefed on the cover story created by Superman and Wonder Woman to explain away Bruce's grave injuries to the press without arousing any unwanted suspicions, to hearing the news that Wally had come out of surgery and his knee was now healing correctly to now sitting between Superman and Superboy waiting to hear Bruce's fate.

It isn't _real_, this _isn't_ happening. It's all a dream, Bruce isn't dying; he's alive probably silently fuming because I slept over at mount Justice instead of coming straight home to him, where he's _alive_, not dying in some damn hospital.

"Dick?"

Dick squeezed his eyes shut pushing back the moisture ready to fall before turning towards Superman, angry to be drawn out of his delusions, wanting nothing more but for them to be true, but as he looked into Clark's calm, compassionate eyes that anger quickly turned to a deep depression.

"What?" he asked quietly, crestfallen he bowed his head down to look at his casted arm and pick at the tightly wound cast.

"I was just wondering if you needed _anything_." Clark asked eager to help,"Food maybe? You hungry, I'm sure Connor wouldn't mind going down to the cafeteria." he finished, nudging Connors shoulder, causing the napping clone to grunt in protest.

"Not hungry." Dick mumbled still picking at the cast

Come on buddy you got to eat something, you probably haven't eaten in over twelve hours, it'll make you feel better I promise." He said desperate to help Dick, who had been sitting stoically not making a noise ever since he and Diana had explained their plan and the good news about Kid Flash, tentatively he reached over to put a reassuring hand on Dick's shoulder.

Dick felt Superman put his strong warm hand on his shoulder and was instantly taken back to when he had clutched Bruce's cold lifeless hand to his chest as he knelt in the burning ruins of the warehouse, anger flaring he pushed Clarks hand off of him and jumped to his feet "Make me feel better?! _You_ want to make _me_ feel better? That's funny, I have a suggestion for you, how about next time don't let the only person left on this fucking planet who gave a damn about me get blown up!"

Dick he aske-"

"I don't give a fuck what he said, the man is a fucking martyr he sacrifices himself _daily_. And it's _my_ job to stop him, to _save_ him." All anger and energy suddenly drained from his body as it hit him, it was _his_ job, it's _his_ fault, he collapsed to the ground, back up against the wall, his whole tired body groaning in protest at the sudden drop, tears springing to his eyes "I failed him, I _should_ have been there. It's my job to be _there,_ to _help_ him, I'm sorry Bruce, I'm _so_ sorry." Dick brought his legs to his chest, curing up into a tighter ball and wrapping his one good arm around his legs, longing for the familiar weight of Batman's cape being draped around his shoulders, Bruce holding him tightly in his arms, as he had so many years ago, "I'm _so_ sorry Bruce." Dick choked out, tears now falling unchecked down his face.

Superman watched shocked as the boy normally so happy and confident tore himself apart, unsure he slowly began to crouch beside the sobbing boy about to attempt to awkwardly console the child when he was interrupted by an elderly man.

"I'll take it from here, if you don't mind sir."

Superman gave a relieved nod stepping out of the man's way, sitting back down beside Connor, who was still dosing despite the noise.

"Master Richard, what _are_ you doing on the floor? It's filthy."

Dick head instantly shot up from where it had been resting on his knees "Alfie?" he asked, looking threw tear filled eyes at the butler, he then quickly scrambled off the ground and threw himself into Alfred's open arms in record time and burying his face into Alfred clean very crisp shirt staining it with his tears "I'm so sorry Alfred, it's all my fault." He sobbed, crying openly he clutched tightly to the back of Alfred jacket.

"Now I don't want to hear any of that _nonsense_, you hear me?" Alfred quipped. Getting no response from the child, he gently grabbed both sides of Dick's face and pulled him from his chest forcing him to meet his eyes. "This is not _your_ fault and I don't want to hear that from you again young man."

Dick nodded sullenly, still not fully convinced; he began to clean his face with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Master Dick!" Alfred reprimanded, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and using it to wipe Dick's face of the mixture of snot and tears.

"Sorry Mom." Dick joked allowing Alfred to fuss over him, glancing over at Connor dozing on the bench seat, thankful that he was asleep and not awake to witness him being pampered. But that was before he glanced to Connor's right and saw Clark sitting there very much awake, a dopey grin on his face as he watched Alfred coddle over him, the events of the past few hours forgotten as he watched Alfred and Dick interact.

"And don't think this excuses you from putting five dollars in the swear jar, the minute we get home."Alfred chastened, returning the kerchief to his pocket before directing Dick towards the seats across from Superboy and Superman and sitting beside him placing an arm around Dick shoulders.

You heard that? Dick asked embarrassed by his earlier outburst, he settled his head down on Alfred's shoulder.

"I think all of Gotham heard that." Alfred teased, placing one wrinkled hand atop Dick's head, smoothing down the tousled hair.

"M'sorry." Dick mumbled, directing a look towards Clark, in return Clark gave him a small smile, apology accepted, knowing that the stress and worry had been the true reason Dick had lashed out so harshly.

"Well I sure am up for a good ol cup of joe, anyone else?" Clark asked cheerfully in attempts to change the somber feel of the room, clapping his hands together loudly, causing Connor to jump up and scowl as he looked around the room trying to find the cause of his sudden and very unwelcome wake up call.

"I could use some tea." Alfred responded.

"Way to be the stereotypical Britt Alfie." Dick teased, looking up from where he was resting on Alfred to grin up at him.

"Well if you're going be that way, I won't get you _any_ treats." Alfred retorted.

"That's fine I'm not hungry anyway." Dick muttered, his entire playful demeanor gone as he slumped back down to his previous position against Alfred.

"Nonsense." Alfred scolded, unfazed by Dick's attitude, he gently maneuvered out from under Dick and stood beside Superman prepared to get and if he had to force food down Dicks throat. "Do you think starving yourself will help Master Bruce? Well it won't. And if Master Bruce were here he would say the same thing."

Dick looked down at his hands once again picking at the cast, swallowing anxiously past the lump in his throat at the thought of having to eat knowing that as soon as he did his nervous unsettled stomach would reject it.

"Very well that settles it; I'm sure young Mr. Kent won't mind watching you while I'm gone."

"yeah..sure." Superboy said staring bewildered at the elderly man now leaving followed closely by Superman.

"Who i-"

"Our Butler." Dick said simply, cutting Connor off before he could even finish his question.

"Butler? Why would your _Butler_ be _here_? Who _are_ you people?" Connor declared astounded by Dick's life outside the capes and cowls.

A small smile crossed Dicks face at Connor confused expression and was about to make a snippy response dealing with the fact that _he_ was a _clone_ of _Superman_ but was interrupted by the arrival of a man clad in a white coat, blue scrubs and face mask.

"Are you the family of Mr. Bruce Wayne?" he asked slipping the mask off his face.

"I'm his son." Dick said, his stomach knotting in anticipation.

"The doctor looked the small boy over gauging his age and maturity before sitting down beside him. "I'm Dr. Turner, I was the surgeon working on your father, is there someone else _here_ with you?"

"They're in the cafeteria." Superboy responded uncertainly for Robin, untrusting of anyone in a lab coat

"Is he alive?" Dick asked the lump in his throat growing larger by the minute.

"Um... perhaps we should wait for them to come back, before I discuss this further." Dr. Turner said stalling not wanting to give the information to a lone thirteen year old without the proper support system.

"Is he alive?" Dick asked again, voice low, glaring dangerously at the Doctor.

"I _really_ think we should wait." he repeated, slightly unnerved by the ferociousness behind the child's glare.

"Is he-" Dick began asking again prepared to pummel the man if he didn't answer the damn question but was interrupted by a warm hand and the always calm voice of Superman.

"Are you Bruce's doctor?" Clark asked, shaking hands with the man before introducing himself, "I'm Clark Kent and this is Alfred Pennyworth we're family friends."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Doctor Turner, I was the primary surgeon for Mr. Wayne, please take a seat". He suggested motioning at the unoccupied seats beside Dick and Connor.

Connor quickly moved from his seat next to Dick to one alongside Superman to allow Alfred to take his now vacant seat beside Dick.

"As you know the injuries Bruce sustained were serious," the Doctor began, locking eyes with Dick before continuing, "we managed to remove the bullet and repair all the damage caused by said bullet, but during his operation his heart stopped beating, we managed to jumpstart it and he's stable now but he was down for thirty minutes before we were able to revive him not to mention the time before he got to the hospital.

"So will he'll be okay _now_?" Dick asked hopefully.

Sympathy shown through the doctors eyes as he placed a hand on Dick's shoulder, "I'm sorry to say, we don't know…he is currently comatose and due to the fact that his brain was without oxygen for at the least thirty minutes we have reasons to believe he may have sustained_ severe_ brain damage we'll to a CT scan to gage the severity but we won't know for sure until he wakes up, _if_ he wakes up.

"You mean _when_ he wakes up." Dick corrected angrily shrugging the hand off his shoulder, wanting to punch the man who dare challenge Bruce's strength of will.

"I just don't want to get your ho-"

"When can we see him?" Alfred interrupted, having recognized the signs of a _very _upset and angry Dick, he quickly placed an arm around the boy shoulders in hopes of not only defusing the anger but to also keep him from attacking the unsuspecting doctor.

"You can see him now, he'll be in the ICU for a few days and unfortunately only immediate family will be allowed to see him." He answered standing up and motioning a nurse over. "Nurse Farrow will gladly take you now."

A few minutes of exchanging pleasantries with both the Doctor and the newly approached nurse later and both Alfred and Dick were following Nurse Farrow to the ICU, Dick was trying and failing to control his anxiety, his stomach doing what felt like back flips as he continued to follow Nurse Farrow to Bruce, even with Alfred's supportive hand on his shoulder, he still felt like hurling all over the clean floor of the hospital.

"We're here." Nurse Farrow suddenly confirmed, jolting Dick out of worries.

"I have to warn you he had first and second degree burns over about thirty percent of his body so he's pretty heavily bandaged." The nurse said giving Dick a small sympathetic smile before she slowly opened the wooden door to reveal Bruce sleeping in the middle of a very clean _very_ white hospital room.

Dick stared in horror at the state of his father, tubes and beeping monitors were inserted everywhere over his body, his skin looked unnaturally pale against the stark white of the bed covers and the crisp white bandages that seemed to cover all but his face and hand, his left eye slightly swollen and sporting a nice purple bruise, the right narrowly missing the large gash running down his forehead and ending right above the eye.

But with each passing step closer to Bruce the horror melted away to despair and the tears once again sprang to the edges of Dick's eyes, close to falling down his cheeks, reaching Bruce's bedside Dick sat down in the seat besides his bed and reached out for one of Bruce's much larger hands holding it to his chest as he had in the ruins of the burning warehouse.

After about an hour or two of sitting there doing nothing but clutch Bruce's hand to his front and ignore Alfred's many attempts to get him to eat and drink various foods and beverages, Dick was at last alone; The room completely silent, he finally managed to speak "Bruce?" he asked his voice small and choked with unshed tears. "Can you hear me?"

Bruce remained unmoving, the heart monitor above him steadily beeping.

Dick looked down at the hand he was clutching to his rib cage, counting the many scars and feeling the familiar callous, the tears finally breached the wall Dick had held up for the past few hours ,rolling freely down his cheeks and landing on Bruce's hand.

The silent tears quickly turning into harsh, broken sobs that ripped through his body and shook his entire body, the agonizing sobs not relenting Dick continued to cry the iron grip he had on Bruce's hand no longer enough, the need to be closer to Bruce growing, the need for assurance that Bruce was in fact alive now a necessity; Dick maneuvered himself around the numerous tubes connecting Bruce to the machines keeping one hand in contact with Bruce the whole time as he climbed onto the bed.

Lifting the blankets covering his father and slipping beneath them Dick cuddled into Bruce's chest and wrapped Bruce's heavy arm around his much smaller body before resting his head above his heart, listening to the strong and steady heart beat sending a wave of relief flooding throughout Dick's body as he fully relaxed into Bruce's body, his un-casted arm slung over Bruce's large torso, clutching the collar of Bruce's shirt, head still resting above Bruce's heart to feel as well as hear Bruce's heart beating, the tears finally subsiding as he sniffled into Bruce's white v-necked shirt, he closed his eyes, finally peaceful; The familiar weight and warmth of Bruce's strong arm wrapped around him, he slept for the first time in what felt like weeks.

_To be continued…in the epilogue_


End file.
